hankyoreh

A person holds white chrysanthemums, a flower used in mourning, on Dec. 15 at the citizen-erected memorial altar for those killed in the crowd crush that took place in an alley in Itaewon on Oct. 29. (Shin So-young/The Hankyoreh)

Over-the-line actions and remarks directed at those who lost loved ones in the Itaewon crowd crush by conservative groups have finally boiled over into legal action on both sides. With politicians in the conservative People Power Party (PPP) yet to offer a proper apology for crude remarks they’ve made at the expense of those mourning, some read this as a sign that certain segments of their supporters endorse the behavior.

The Hankyoreh’s reporting on Thursday found that Minbyun-Lawyers for a Democratic Society, which is the legal representative of an association of families affected by the Oct. 29 disaster plans to file a complaint as early as next week after reviewing whether defamation charges can be applied to the conservative far-right group New Freedom Solidarity.

Minbyun is also considering applying for an injunction on the New Freedom Solidarity’s rally, which is being held right next to the civic memorial altar set up near Noksapyeong Station in Yongsan, Seoul, on the grounds that the rally is “being operated differently from its initial report, and illegal activities such as verbal abuse are being carried out,” according to the group.

The bereaved families say they are taking legal action because the level of offense is escalating as time goes on.

On Tuesday, the New Freedom Solidarity hung up a banner right next to the civic memorial altar that read: “Should the state be responsible for all lonely deaths, traffic accidents, construction accidents? Should the president apologize for every single one?”

Before that, they had hung up a banner that read “Away with Political Aggravators at the Itaewon Tragedy Memorial.”

The Yongsan District Office, which has oversight over outdoor advertisements in Itaewon, has abnegated responsibility by saying they “cannot look over every single slogan to regulate them.”

In addition to that, conservative YouTubers are making content out of filming the area around the memorial and uttering abuses toward the bereaved families. Some of the bereaved families have fainted after being targeted with unbridled spite.

Despite this, the New Freedom Alliance has, in response to the warning given to them on Wednesday regarding the legal action the bereaved families will take, sued Lee Jong-cheol, head of the bereaved families’ association, on defamation charges. They claim that the council “has spread false information, saying that the New Freedom Solidarity interfered with the installation of the memorial altar.”

Some interpret the appearance of such vitriol as an outgrowth of crude remarks made by members of the PPP — that in essence, these politicians have instigated their supporters.

National Assembly member Kim Sang-hoon of the PPP mocked the launch of a citizens’ action committee concerning the disaster by saying that they were “making tragedy a business,” and Changwon city councilor Kim Mi-na said that the families were “making a buck off of corpses.”

Despite such hateful speech, the administration has offered no apology or any kind of messaging. This is because even after their unfiltered remarks, they have yet to lose supporters.

Meeting with PPP lawmakers on Tuesday, the council of families said that “anything lawmakers say, [conservative] supporters go 10 times further.”

A member of the bereaved families’ association stated that they would soon “issue a statement calling for an apology for the continuous verbal abuse from politicians,” and that they are “considering legal measures such as defamation against conservative groups in a separate case from Minbyun.”

By Kwak Jin-san, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]